[Jay-Z's Mom:]Sean Carter was born December 4thWeighing in at 10 pounds 8 ouncesHe was the last of my 4 childrenThe only one who didn't give me any pain when i gave birth to himAnd that's how i knew that he was a special child

[Jay-Z Verse 1]They say "they never really miss you til you dead or you gone"So on that note i'm leaving after the songSo you ain't gotta feel no way about Jay so longAtleast let me tell you why i'm this way, Hold onI was conceived by Gloria Carter and Adaness ReveesWho made love under the Siccamore treeWhich makes meA more sicker M.C. and my momma would claimAt 10 pounds when i was born i didn't give her no painAlthough through the years i gave her her fair shareI gave her her first real scareI made it from birth and i got hereShe knows my purpose wasn't purposeI ain't perfect i careBut i feel worthless cause my shirts wasn't matchin my gearNow i'm just scratchin the surface cause what's burried under thereWas a kid torn apart once his pop disappearedI went to school got good grades could behave when i wantedBut i had demons deep inside that would raise when confrontedHold on

[Jay-Z's Mom:]Shawn was a very shy child growing upHe was into sportsAnd a funny story isAt 4 he taught hisself how to ride a bikeA two wheeler at thatIsn't that special?But, i noticed a change in him when me and my husband broke up

[Jay-Z Verse 2]Now all the teachers couldn't reach meAnd my momma couldn't beat meHard enough to match the pain of my pops not seeing me, SOWith that distain in my membrainGot on my pimp gameFuck the world my defense cameThen Dahaven introuced me to the gameSpanish Jose introduced me to caneI'm a hustler nowMy gear is in and i'm in the in crowdAnd all the wavey light skinned girls is lovin me nowMy self esteem went through the roof man i got my swagGot a volvo from this girl when her man got baggedPlus i hit my momma with cash from a show that i hadSupposedly knowin nobody paid Jaz wack assI'm geting ahead of myself, by the way, i could rapThat came second to me movin this crackGimme a second i swearI will say about my rap careerTil 96 came niggas i'm hereGood-bye

[Jay-Z's Mom:]Shawn use to be in the kitchenBeating on the table and rappingAnd um, until the wee hours of the morningAnd then i bought him a boom boxAnd his sisters and brothers said he would drive them nutsBut that was my way to keep him close to me and out of trouble

[Jay-Z Verse 3]Good-bye to the game all the spoils, the adreneline rushYour blood boils you in a spot knowing cops could rushAnd you in a drop your so easy to touchNo two days are alikeExcept the first and fifteenth pretty muchAnd "trust" is a word you seldom hear from usHustlers we don't sleep we rest one eye upAnd the drought to find a man when the well dries upYou learn to work the water without workin thirst til die YUPAnd niggas get tied up for productAnd little brothers ring fingers get cut upTo show mothers they really got emAnd this was the stress i live with til i decidedTo try this rap shit for a livinI Pray i'm forgivenFor every bad decision i madeEvery sister i playedCause i'm still paranoid to this dayAnd it's nobody fault i made the decisions i madeThis is the life i chose or rather the life that chose me

If you can't respect that your whole perspective is wackMaybe you'll love me when i fade to black

If you can't respect that your whole perspective is wackMaybe you'll love me when i fade to black[repeat 2 more times to fade]